Thursday, October 14, 2010

Weather or Not

Missed the lovely days with my stomach thingie and the result is that the sun refuses to shine. That's OK. It will clear up again and by then I should feel fine.

The Boys are all well and sound, as far as I can tell. They are growing their winter coats, and, at the moment, are not wearing any sheets at all. The flies seem to be gone for the most part, and it hasn't been chilly enough to warrant "jackets," although when it rains like this, I am tempted.

They do have plenty of shelter available including three stalls, two run in roofs on the barn, and the separate run-in shed, so there's plenty of protection against the elements.

I do tend to sheet or blanket them when it does get old, however. Toby and Tucker are Thoroughbreds, with somewhat fine coats. Chance, despite being a warmblood, does not grow a really heavy coat either. While I am sure that, except for the most severe weather, they would probably be OK without extra protection, a lightweight waterproof sheet or lightweight waterproof blanket is a plus.

Now that I am home most of the time, I can also change their "costumes" as needed if the weather takes a dramatic turn during the day.

AND during hunting season, I feel a lot better when they are dressed in flame orange. Trouble is, most of those sheets are not made of the most durable nylon, so I have quite a few shredded versions in my collection. I repair them whenever I can and kind of play "sheet roulette" whenever the Boys play too roughly with each other. Usually, I can manage one fairly structurally sound orange sheet for each horse per day....usually.

3 comments:

Likewise there is always the temptation to shove a sheet on, although on a fine-coated horse in the rain I think it's totally warranted. I'd be the first to admit I'll sheet my horse to keep him clean for ridden work *lol* Sounds like everyone in your paddock is feeling well :)

Read that you've been poorly, hope you are on the mend now and take care of yourself.

I'm sure the boys will be fine whatever you decide. We have hunters too, but no orange sheets. We should probably get some but we don't allow them in the back field during hunting season so there's not much chance of anything happening to them anyway.

The Saga of Magiskeep

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About Me

I have been riding for more than 50 years and owned horses since 1971.
I am a retired High School English teacher and a political/environmental activist.
I write fantasy stories/novels and am a soprano choir member and soloist. I have also authored a few songs that have been published and performed.